69th Miss Universe Edition: Lesser Number of Candidates

It is speculated that the 69th Miss Universe pageant would have the least number of candidates. With countries still grappling the Corona virus pandemic, it is likely that around 70 countries would participate in this edition of the pageant.

So far only 61 candidates have been officially named as their countries’ reps to the pageant with only a handful countries left to select a rep. Nepal, Great Britain and Belize are still to announce their candidates while Germany and Sweden have made public that they will not be able to participate in this edition, and would return for the 2021 edition (tentatively to be held in December next year). It was rumored that national directors and organizers were given until the end of the year to submit their respective candidates to the Miss Universe Organization.

Here are the list of crowned and appointed candidates as of December 23, 2020:

1. Paula Mehmetukaj, 22, Albania
2. Alina Luz Akselrad, 22, Argentina
3. Helen Hernandez, 20, Aruba
4. Maria Thattil, 27, Australia
5. Shauntae Miller, 27, Bahamas
6. Hillary Ann Williams, 24, Barbados
7. Celine Van Ouytsel, 23, Belgium
8. Lenka Nemer, 23, Bolivia
9. Julia Gama, 27, Brazil
10. Shabree Frett, 24, British Virgin Islands
11. Reth Sarita, 25, Cambodia
12. Nova Stevens, 27, Canada
13. Mariah Tibbetts, 26, Cayman Islands
14. Daniela Nicolas, 28, Chile
15. Jiaxin Sun, 21, China
16. Laura Olascuaga, 25, Colombia
17. Ivonne Cerdas, 27, Costa Rica
18. Mirna Naiia Maric, 22, Croatia
19. Chantal Wiertz, 21, Curaçao
20. Kimberly Jimenez, 23, Dominican Republic
21. Leyla Espinoza, 24, Ecuador
22. Vanessa Velasquez, 24, El Salvador
23. Viivi Altonen, 24, Finland
24. Clemence Botino, 23, France
25. Chelsea Tayui, 25, Ghana
26. Eden Berandoive, 24, Haiti
27. Cecilia Rossell, 25, Honduras
28. Elísabet Hulda Snorradóttir, 21, Iceland
29. Adline Castelino, 22, India
30. Ayu Maulida, 23, Indonesia
31. Nadia Sayers, 26, Ireland
32. Tehila Levi, 18, Israel
33. Viviana Vizzini, 27, Italy
34. Miqueal-Symone Williams, 23, Jamaica
35. Aisha Harumi Tochigi, 24, Japan
36. Park Ha Ri, 24, Korea
37. Blerta Veseli, 23, Kosovo
38. Francisca James, 25, Malaysia
39. Anthea Zammit, 26, Malta
40. Vandana Jeetah, 28, Mauritius
41. Andrea Meza, 26, Mexico
42. Denise Speelman, 23, Netherlands
43. Ana Marcelo, 24, Nicaragua
44. Sunniva Frigstad, 20, Norway
45. Carmen Jaramillo, 25, Panama
46. Vanessa Castro Guillén, 27, Paraguay
47. Janick Maceta del Castillo, 26, Peru
48. Rabiya Mateo, 24, Philippines
49. Magdalena Kasiborska, 20, Poland
50. Cristiana Silva, 19, Portugal
51. Estefania Soto, 27, Puerto Rico
52. Bianca Tirsin, 22, Romania
53. Bernadette Belle Ong, 26, Singapore
54. Natasha Joubert, 22, South Africa
55. Andrea Martinez, 27, Spain
56. Amanda Obdam, 27, Thailand
57. Elizaveta Yastremskaya, 27, Ukraine
58. Asya Branch, 22, United States
59. Lola de los Santos, 22, Uruguay
60. Mariangel Villasmil, 24, Venezuela
61. Nguyen Tran Khanh Van, 25, Vietnam

The 69th edition is supposedly to happen during the first trimester of the year while the 2021 edition is to happen sometime in December.

The date and venue of the Miss Universe 2020 coronation night have yet to be made official although strong indications point out that the US will play host in either Las Vegas, Nevada or most probably in Miami, Florida. Despite best efforts, the scheduled dates of the pageant may still yet be pushed back depending on the severity of the Corona Virus pandemic gripping the world. While it is likely that the pageant will take place around late March to April, there are rumors that the pageant could even be pushed pack to May.